Thriving with Vision Loss

What happens when an artist begins to lose her sight, but not her creativity? In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Michelle sits down with Lena Regina Smith, a multidisciplinary artist based in Northwest Arkansas whose work gained national recognition after she transitioned from photography to tactile, multi-sensory painting following vision loss from Granular Corneal Dystrophy (GCD). Len...

Thumbnail Description: A woman in a bright yellow hi-vis jacket and black riding helmet stands on a quiet country road holding a lead rope. A large dark brown and white horse leans its head toward her face. White bold text on the right side reads: "Rides Blind. Won't Stop." In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Michelle sits down with Nikki Watson, founder and administrator of the Blind Ri...

An engineer losing his sight. Frustrated by the tools that were supposed to help. So he built something new. UPDATE! Lumin is now live on Apple's App Store! Gmail users can download it here: https://trylumin.ai/r/elevivo Using an Android phone or Outlook for email? Sign up for the Lumin waitlist here: https://trylumin.ai/r/elevivo In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Michelle sits dow...

Blind or low-vision and not sure what help is available? State rehabilitation services exist to support independence, employment, and a path forward - and most people don't know how to access them.   Michelle sits down with three leaders from the AlabamaDepartment of Rehabilitation Services: Dana Barber, State Coordinator for Blind Services; Matthew Haynes, who leads the OASIS program for olde...

Blind. Raising an autistic son alone. Building a business from nothing. Thumbnail Description: This thumbnail is a two-panel image. On the left, a solid cyan panel displays bold black text reading "Blind." "Single Father." "Business Owner."stacked on three lines. On the right, Reynold Chen, an Asian man with short dark hair, is photographed indoors against a white wal...

THUMBNAIL DESCRIPTION: Black and white photo of Chef Riq, a Black man with a shaved head and dark glasses, wearing a black chef coat, looking down as he works in a kitchen. A solid cyan bar across the bottom of the image displays the words: Blind. Hospitalized. Still Cooking. In this episode of Thriving withVision Loss, Michelle sits down with Chef Riq, a blind chef and creator of Unseen Cuisine -...

Comedian. Former blindness counselor. Both eyes removed. Still the funniest person in the room.  Sam Atwood has lived with low vision his entire life, workedas a Blind and Low Vision Services Counselor, survived multiple eye surgeries, and ultimately made the decision to have both eyes removed. He also happens tobe genuinely funny about all of it.  In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Mic...

Special education teacher. Lost his sight. Found blindhockey. Has not stopped since.   Josh Schneider is a defenseman on the United States BlindHockey Team, founder of The Dented Puck Foundation, and host of The Dented Puck Podcast. He knows what it feels like to lose your career, your identity, and your sense of what comes next - and he knows what it feels like when somethingunexpected gives it a...

Tech reviews are everywhere. Accessibility only workswhen it is shaped by lived experience.   Scott Joffre is the creator of The Blind Striker, one of themost trusted voices in blind and low-vision assistive technology. Scott grew up with low vision, adapted as his sight changed, and built a channel dedicated to testing technology the way blind and low-vision people actually use it — not the way m...

Blind professional. Inside a university. Helping studentsthrough what she is living with herself.   Leighann Fuller is the Visually Impaired ServicesCoordinator at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She has lived with glaucoma since her teenage years, lost vision in one eye over a decade ago, and lost vision in her other eye in 2023. She also lives with rheumatoid arthritis. She knows what...

Blind for over a decade. Changed by a single morning he never saw coming. In this episode of Thriving with Vision Loss, Michelle sits down with Clint Aiken, whose life was profoundly redirected after an unexpected and life-altering moment. Clint shares the deeply human side of vision loss — including an intense emotional crisis, the moment he lay down to rest, and waking up blind. He opens up abou...

Connor Standingready is blind, Indigenous, and practicing family and Indigenous law in Saskatchewan. This is what happens when vision loss does not get the final word. In This Episode You Will Learn •      How Connor describes his vision impairment to people encountering it for the first time •      What drew him to family and Indigenous law •      What it is like to navigate the courtroom with a...

The thumbnail shows Shawn Keen from the chest up, smiling broadly with a wide, genuine smile. He has short salt-and-pepper hair and is wearing black-framed glasses with a small white assistive device mounted on the top of the frame. He is dressed in a dark navy button-up shirt. The background is softly blurred with natural light coming through large windows. Bold yellow text in the lower portion o...

Thumbnail description: Two photos of Gale Pollock. On the left, Gale in U.S. Army dress uniform in front of an American flag. On the right, Gale smiling in an equestrian helmet beside a black horse. Black text on a white background reads Gale Pollock, Major General (Ret) Thriving with Vision Loss. The eleVIVO logo appears in the lower right corner. Sometimes change begins with a single question. A...